A daily miasma of frivolity by two wanna-be cultural critics. Or: just, like, some good links, dude.

Dec 07 2012
Mark Twain, probably

From the book description of photographer Michael Wesely’s book Open Shutter on Amazon.com:

Since the early 1990s, German photographer Michael Wesely has been inventing and refining techniques for using extremely long camera exposures to take uniquely compelling photographs. Through the use of filters and a very small aperture, yet one that is standard in a professional camera lens, he is able to diminish the amount of light hitting the negative to the point where he can extend the exposure many thousands of times longer than we would ordinarily expect. Some of Wesely’s pictures of the rebuilding of Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz, for example, in a series completed in 1999, were continuously exposed over a period of 26 months.

The photo accompanying this post, courtesy of PetaPixel, is one of his Berlin rebuilding photos, specifically of Leipziger Platz. PetaPixel has several more photo samples, and you should absolutely check out every one.

Tagged ,
Dec 06 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Snowplow Simulator Offers Rare Chance to Practice

Snowplow Simulator Offers Rare Chance to Practice

Nomaan Merchant, AP:

In an area that gets a mere 3 inches of snow a year, Dallas snowplow drivers live in fear of major winter storms like the one that crippled their city almost two years ago, the week before it was to host the Super Bowl.

The drivers aren’t the only worried ones. So highway officials in at least nine states are using a sophisticated simulator to give plow drivers a chance to practice snow removal in any weather. It works like a video game, recreating slick pavement, poor visibility and even children or animals bolting across the road. In a virtual collision, drivers hear crashing noises and see a cracked windshield.

SNOWPLOW SIMULATOR

Tagged , ,
Dec 06 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Portal’s physics engine rebuilt on a graphing calculator

Portal’s physics engine rebuilt on a graphing calculator

Casey Johnston, Ars Technica:

A 20-year-old college student has rebuilt Portal, Valve’s 2007 space-bending game, from the ground up, on—wait for it—a graphing calculator. In a display that puts the old calculator versions of Mario and Tetris to shame, Alex Marcolina posted to a gaming forum and reddit on Sunday about his re-engineered version of Portal. It took three years to build and cannot, due to resource constraints on TI-83/84 calculators, execute more than 16 kilobytes of code.

Don’t miss the brief code listing. You’ll flip your wig.

Tagged , ,
Dec 05 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Court Upholds F.C.C. Rule on Use of Data Networks

Court Upholds F.C.C. Rule on Use of Data Networks

Edward Wyatt reporting for The New York Times:

Cellphone companies must allow customers of competing wireless carriers to use their networks for the Internet and e-mail when outside their home territory, a federal appeals court said here on Tuesday.

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said that just as the Federal Communications Commission required wireless carriers to allow voice-service roaming by customers of other carriers, it also can require the same, at commercially reasonable rates, for data customers — in essence, those who use smartphones, tablets and other wireless devices.

Hooray for the courts giving the FCC the power to do something, it’s been a while since something like that happened.

Tagged , ,
Dec 05 2012
Mark Twain, probably

I am a fan of everything in this video by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Hoo doggie.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
Tagged
Dec 04 2012
Mark Twain, probably

It appears to be Kunitaka Watanabe time once again here on Nullary Sources. Have you ever wanted to hear a version of “Hello, Dolly!” on Otamatone and banjolele? Well now you can, courtesy of Mr. Watanabe and Takashi Nakamura.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
Tagged , , ,
Dec 03 2012
Mark Twain, probably

So on yesterday’s NBC broadcast of Sunday Night Football, Bob Costas had a ninety second segment during halftime. He used it to talk about Jovan Belcher, who shot and killed his girlfriend and himself on December 1.

Costas spent most of the segment talking about and quoting an online piece for FOX Sports by Jason Whitlock about gun culture and gun control. I’m not going to express an opinion on gun control or focus on that. What I will say is that I’m really just amazed this happened during a nationally televised football game, and I’d have had the same reaction even if Costas expressed the opposite opinion.

What I really want to talk about are the first thirty seconds of the segment, where Costas dropped one of the fiercest burns on the platitudes of sports press conferences that I’ve ever heard:

In the aftermath of the nearly unfathomable events in Kansas City, that most mindless of sports cliches was heard yet again: “Something like this really puts it all in perspective.” Well if so, that sort of perspective has a very short shelf life, since we will inevitably hear about the perspective we have supposedly again regained the next time ugly reality intrudes upon our games. Please. Those who need tragedies to continually recalibrate their sense of proportion about sports would seem to have little hope of ever truly achieving perspective.

Sports press conferences are a disgustingly hollow spectacle where the same words are repeated day in and day out until they no longer mean anything. After Costas finished this thought, I just stared slack-jawed at the television for a while, and then I slow clapped harder than I’ve slow clapped in quite some time.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
Tagged , , ,
Dec 02 2012
Mark Twain, probably

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS74k9p2_GQ

Two weeks ago, I posted a bit about the new game Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. I was not planning on mentioning anything else about this game here, especially since I don’t have it.

Then I learned that in this game you can shoot bees. This can be seen at 3:34 in the attached video. Bees are a weapon in this game.

So Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is somehow part of our continuing coverage of bees.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
Tagged ,
Dec 01 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Warp Drives May Come With a Killer Downside

Warp Drives May Come With a Killer Downside

Jason Major, Universe Today:

While many factors involving FTL travel are purely theoretical — and may remain in the realm of imagination for a very long time, if not ever — there are some concepts that play well with currently-accepted physics. The Alcubierre warp drive is one of those concepts.

Proposed by Mexican theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre in 1994, the drive would propel a ship at superluminal speeds by creating a bubble of negative energy around it, expanding space (and time) behind the ship while compressing space in front of it. In much the same way that a surfer rides a wave, the bubble of space containing the ship and its passengers would be pushed at velocities not limited to the speed of light toward a destination.

Of course, when the ship reaches its destination it has to stop. And that’s when all hell breaks loose.

Click the link to read the horrifying consequences.

Tagged , ,
Dec 01 2012
Mark Twain, probably

Incredibly well directed stop-motion video from Marcus and Hannes Knutsson. Stick with it — it’s not just World 1-1.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
Tagged ,
← Older posts
Newer posts →